What do you think the chances are of having to reinstall windows upgrading from a M8 Hero Z170 to a M9 Hero z270 mobo?
Assuming it's Windows 10 you wont have to reinstall. I'd uninstall chipset, audio, LAN drivers etc. then change the board but you should be OK. I've swapped a system from Intel to AMD before and Windows 10 copes really well.
Was wondering if i can get away with doing it that way as i dont feel like reinstalling windows unless i need to.
As @Jagman said : There's nothing to do! Just swap disk. Otherwise (paid): https://www.easeus.com/backup-utility/transfer-data.html
It depends on which Windows key did you purchased. Was it retail, or an upgrade? Recently, I upgraded mobo, processor, and ram. But, when I tried to re-activated windows 10 pro, it was blocked. With the help with Microsoft service, reason for being blocked, was that my original key was windows 8 upgrade, which apparently was oem version, that was locked to my original hardware. So, I had to buy a new key. But do not buy from them, use one of Guru3D affiliates, : https://www.guru3d.com/articles-categories/affiliates.html
